Odysseus' refusal to listen to the well-intended and often very wise advice of those around him is what ultimately leads to the catastrophic journey he must take. It is his egotistical pride which often serves as his downfall throughout the narrative and which thwarts his homecoming.
We first see this pop up when Odysseus manages to escape the cyclops, Polyphemus. As Odysseus and his men are sailing away from the shore, his crew advises him...
Odysseus' refusal to listen to the well-intended and often very wise advice of those around him is what ultimately leads to the catastrophic journey he must take. It is his egotistical pride which often serves as his downfall throughout the narrative and which thwarts his homecoming.
We first see this pop up when Odysseus manages to escape the cyclops, Polyphemus. As Odysseus and his men are sailing away from the shore, his crew advises him not to taunt Polyphemus or reveal his name to the creature. And yet Odysseus does just that, determined to show the cyclops just how skillful of an escape artist he is. As a result, Polyphemus tattles to his father, the great sea god Poseidon, who then proceeds to essentially torture Odysseus and his men for their next ten years of travel.
This same foolishness almost leads to catastrophe later on as well. After receiving advice from Circe that the men should plug their ears with beeswax so as not to be lured into danger by the sirens, Odysseus directly ignores this advice. While his men's ears get plugged, Odysseus refuses to do so and instead has his men tie him to the mast of the ship so that he can hear the song. Odysseus is, of course, enormously attracted to the music and begs to be released. Thankfully, his faithful men refuse to do so, which prevents Odysseus' death.
As you can see, Odysseus has a habit of prioritizing his own agenda and ego over the sage words of others—actions which have enormous consequences for those around him!
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